OTTAWA — Prices for new homes in Canada rose 0.3 per in February, led by the Toronto and Oshawa region, Statistics Canada said Thursday.

Economists had expected a rise of 0.2 per cent, following a 0.1 per cent gain in January. On a year-over-year basis, prices were up 2.3 per cent in February, compared to a 2.4 per cent increase the previous month.

"The metropolitan region of Toronto and Oshawa was the top contributor to the increase in February," the federal agency said. "The positive impact of this region on the overall index was slightly offset by the decrease observed in Vancouver."

Prices were unchanged in five of the 21 metropolitan regions tracked by Statistics Canada.

Prices in the Toronto and Oshawa region — representing about a quarter of the national market — were up 0.4 in February from the month before. However, the biggest single increase was in Regina, where prices rose 2.4 per cent. Halifax was up 1.2 per cent and St. Catharines-Niagara, Ont., gained 1.1 per cent.

The largest monthly price declines were in Charlottetown, down 0.5 per cent, and the Saint John, Fredericton and Moncton, N.B., off 0.4 per cent.

On Wednesday, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said housing starts jumped by five per cent in March from the previous month, to 215,600 units.

That surpassed economists' estimates of 200,000 units for the month, and was led by the still-booming condo market.

"The upward movement in March was largely due to an increase in multiple starts, particularly in Ontario and the Prairies," said Mathieu Laberge, CMHC's deputy chief economist. "This was partly offset by a decrease in multiple starts in British Columbia and Quebec, while single-detached starts decreased marginally countrywide."

Leslie Preston, an economist with TD Economics, said the surge in March activity was not so surprising, given the unseasonably warm winter experienced by most of the country, which would have encouraged earlier-than-normal starts.

The annual rate of urban starts increased by 4.2 per cent to 192,100 units in March, CMHC said. While urban single-unit activity slipped 2.4 per cent to 68,000 units, multiple-unit starts were up 8.3 per cent to 124,100.